• New software ends parent nightmares, by offering suitable child-friendly options, on their Sat Nav
• Launch timed for half-term when millions of Britons will be setting off for long journeys
• 3,000 child-friendly locations including Pubs, Restaurants, Activities and Attractions give families a real alternative to expensive, unfriendly, uninteresting & dirty service stations
Every parent comes to learn that ‘the best laid plans of mice and men go oft 'astray’! At no time is this more the case than for long car journeys such as those frequently undertaken at half-term, which is almost upon us. Suddenly, on a trip, it becomes apparent that a break is needed and yet service-stations rarely do the trick.
www.childfriendly.co.uk and RoadTour have now come to the rescue in the form of a new system called Sat-Nanny, developed to work on standard Sat Navs. Sat Nanny empowers parents with information about the best places to take the family, when on the road, whatever the need.
“There is a world of difference between what one person means by child-friendly and another. We have spent 5 years researching all the very best places to take children. These are places that make parents and their children feel welcome.” Conrad Doyle, Founding Director of
www.childfriendly.co.uk said, “Having made that information easy to access on our website, working with RoadTour has enabled us to bring all this to people on the move where it’s most valuable.”
Options for families too often come down to characterless and expensive motorway service stations. These are the places referred to by Which as "dingy and unattractive", even comparing one to "little more than a McDonald's next to a petrol station". The AA found 50% of service stations ‘Very Poor’ and none more than ‘Acceptable’ for Child Friendliness or Price. Food can be particularly expensive and variable according to Which, whose report referred to ‘chile con cardboard’ and concluded, "We found a wide variation in the quality of motorway service stations," according to Lorna Cowan of Holiday Which Magazine.
At a time when families are looking closely at every pound spent, research carried out recently (Sept ’08) by
www.keepmoving.co.uk showed a snack-lunch costing £26.68 for a family of four at Reading Services. Yet just a few miles off the motorway lies the award-winning Swan Inn near Newbury. There, a family can enjoy freshly made sandwiches all round for under £20 or something more warming like Steak and Ale Pie, home-made beef-burger or fish and chips for little more. All this in a pleasant, relaxed (and clean) environment which makes both parents and children feel welcome.
Daniel Taylor, CEO of RoadTour, believes that by taking a little more time, families can have much more enjoyable journeys rather than rushing to get from A to B as quickly as possible. “We want to give families an opportunity to pull off the motorway and confidently choose somewhere with their Sat Nav. Somewhere the whole family can count on a welcoming atmosphere, whether they want to eat, see something a bit different or just have some fun together.”
